So here I am, procrastinating as usual. I'm just now starting to put my receipts in order to get my taxes to my accountant. Fortunately, I am more than likely due for a refund so I won't be penalized for turning in my taxes late. However, if I do end up owing taxes, then....I'll just pay the taxes and the late fees. So yes, it's a gamble but I'm pretty confident that it will be a refund so......we're just gonna go with that.
Now, if I only would keep track of my receipts throughout the year, then we would not have this problem. I bought Quicken over a year ago and still have not been tracking my expenses, etc. However, with the recession coming on, I need to buckle down. That may just get me started on tracking my expenses to get rid of the wasteful spending and start saving more money. I'm not too concerned at the moment of losing my job; however, I want a safety net just in case..... Also starting back up the Weekenders business so that I'm ready to go.
OK - back to the grind of gathering my receipts. Wish me luck.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
More Updates on Cherai......
It's a shame, isn't it? That I have to keep giving you updates as opposed to just staying current! Good grief.
Well, since January 2008, let's see what's been going on:
February was kinda quiet with just one quick day trip to Boston - than then took all day to get back. It was a large storm and I ended up having to be routed from Boston to DC (National Airport) to Chicago to eventually get back home. I did not bring my computer on that trip b/c it was literally a QUICK TRIP and then sat in the Admiral's Lounge all day long with no computer! I read a book instead. If it wasn't the stress of trying to get home, it would have been a peaceful day. The grandmother of one of my sorors passed away and I participated in the Omega Omega service for her. That was sad. Also did the MPI-CAC Ed-Con, that was fun.
March 2008 - lots of travel. Went to DC for a meeting of minds with my sales colleagues. That was fun. Then went to Philadelphia for 8 days for my client's meeting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and at the Marriott Philly. Tough city to do a meeting. Labor is terrible and expensive. You know, it's not so bad to have expensive labor when it's good labor. It's when it's expensive and not good that it really sucks. I also relaunched my Weekenders business as it had been pretty dormant for the past year. Check out the website: www.weekendersusa.com. Really cute clothes this season. I'll be doing some shows soon.
April 2008 - was in DC the first week to do a tradeshow called Springtime in the Park. That was fun to see some of my colleagues that I used to work with in DC and Miami and New Orleans when I used to work the DC market. I also saw the contact for one of my biggest bids to date - hope we get that meeting. We'll see what happens. It's been a busy time in Chicago just planning stuff for my clients. I travel to Seattle for a site inspection April 21 - 22. let's hope that American Airlines has their stuff together for the trip b/c these cancellations of planes are a pain. I mean, I want to be safe and all but really - let's get it together. I also had a 24 hr bug that put me down for the count for about two days. Hate being sick.
Everyone is my life is well and/or surviving. My brother and his wife Laura suffered a miscarriage so that was tough. They were supposed to come visit to tell my Mom & Dad in person but since the baby was lost, they did not come up. I hope to see them on my next trip to DC. I tried to see them this past trip in April but they were kinda keeping to themselves - which is understandable. Ah well......I do understand.
My parents are well. Dad turned in his resignation at the Elkart Council on Aging. Mom and I are happy about that. He's going to do some consulting and be really retired. Mom is still principal at Brown Middle School. That's good. She seems to be doing well. She's also gotten active in the sorority again - I'm so pleased. My roomie is back!
Brian is thinking about joining the Peace Corps. He left the newspaper (Springfield News Leader) in December 2007 and has been teaching a class at the university and writing freelance. I told him that he's a great person to do the Peace Corps volunteer work. God Bless Him.
I've been looking at other folk's blogs and it's nice to catch up with people's lives - especially when you don't get to talk to them. My college roommate Meghan is looking to adopt a baby from Russia so...that's really interesting. She's blogging about the process. I'll share the address if anyone is interested. My sister-in-law's sister just had a new baby and it was fun to see the new pictures on their blog of their little boy. So since I appreciate seeing other people's lives up to date, I will do better at keeping my blog more up to date. There are some things that I want to discuss anyway so I'll do my best to keep it up.
Gotta start the taxes thing now. Since I should get a refund, I'm not stressing over the April 15th date but...I could use the money so let's get on point to get these taxes done!
Well, since January 2008, let's see what's been going on:
February was kinda quiet with just one quick day trip to Boston - than then took all day to get back. It was a large storm and I ended up having to be routed from Boston to DC (National Airport) to Chicago to eventually get back home. I did not bring my computer on that trip b/c it was literally a QUICK TRIP and then sat in the Admiral's Lounge all day long with no computer! I read a book instead. If it wasn't the stress of trying to get home, it would have been a peaceful day. The grandmother of one of my sorors passed away and I participated in the Omega Omega service for her. That was sad. Also did the MPI-CAC Ed-Con, that was fun.
March 2008 - lots of travel. Went to DC for a meeting of minds with my sales colleagues. That was fun. Then went to Philadelphia for 8 days for my client's meeting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and at the Marriott Philly. Tough city to do a meeting. Labor is terrible and expensive. You know, it's not so bad to have expensive labor when it's good labor. It's when it's expensive and not good that it really sucks. I also relaunched my Weekenders business as it had been pretty dormant for the past year. Check out the website: www.weekendersusa.com. Really cute clothes this season. I'll be doing some shows soon.
April 2008 - was in DC the first week to do a tradeshow called Springtime in the Park. That was fun to see some of my colleagues that I used to work with in DC and Miami and New Orleans when I used to work the DC market. I also saw the contact for one of my biggest bids to date - hope we get that meeting. We'll see what happens. It's been a busy time in Chicago just planning stuff for my clients. I travel to Seattle for a site inspection April 21 - 22. let's hope that American Airlines has their stuff together for the trip b/c these cancellations of planes are a pain. I mean, I want to be safe and all but really - let's get it together. I also had a 24 hr bug that put me down for the count for about two days. Hate being sick.
Everyone is my life is well and/or surviving. My brother and his wife Laura suffered a miscarriage so that was tough. They were supposed to come visit to tell my Mom & Dad in person but since the baby was lost, they did not come up. I hope to see them on my next trip to DC. I tried to see them this past trip in April but they were kinda keeping to themselves - which is understandable. Ah well......I do understand.
My parents are well. Dad turned in his resignation at the Elkart Council on Aging. Mom and I are happy about that. He's going to do some consulting and be really retired. Mom is still principal at Brown Middle School. That's good. She seems to be doing well. She's also gotten active in the sorority again - I'm so pleased. My roomie is back!
Brian is thinking about joining the Peace Corps. He left the newspaper (Springfield News Leader) in December 2007 and has been teaching a class at the university and writing freelance. I told him that he's a great person to do the Peace Corps volunteer work. God Bless Him.
I've been looking at other folk's blogs and it's nice to catch up with people's lives - especially when you don't get to talk to them. My college roommate Meghan is looking to adopt a baby from Russia so...that's really interesting. She's blogging about the process. I'll share the address if anyone is interested. My sister-in-law's sister just had a new baby and it was fun to see the new pictures on their blog of their little boy. So since I appreciate seeing other people's lives up to date, I will do better at keeping my blog more up to date. There are some things that I want to discuss anyway so I'll do my best to keep it up.
Gotta start the taxes thing now. Since I should get a refund, I'm not stressing over the April 15th date but...I could use the money so let's get on point to get these taxes done!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Happy New Year!
Nevermind that it's Jan 25th already but hey - I'm getting back into the groove of blogging. As you know, life never seems to slow down enough to do all the things that one wants to do so....we just do what we can. I've actually been better about calling people so...those that follow the blog are a little behind the times. My apologies.
so since the last blog, here's a rundown of what's been going on in Cherai's world:
I have been a participant in Holiday Showcase tradeshow (and met a new mentor that will hopefully get me moving in my career transition)
went on a one-day trip to Philadelphia with my client to look over the space for an upcoming show in March
met Bryan's family (wait, who is Bryan, you ask? He's my sweetheart of a boyfriend - more on him later) who liked me,
spent Christmas with my family (and brothers Brian & Jeff along with Aunt Lil met Bryan and everyone seemed to get along),
spent New Year's in church with Bryan, Eugene and Richard (who had not met Bryan but everyone seemed to like each other)
Had traditional New Year's Day dinner with Bryan's family (his sister Pam cooked - and it was delicious).
Went to Aruba on vacation with Bryan (we had a BALL). As soon as I figure out how to download the photos, you'll see them
Went to Seattle on business - it was a good show with some drama but everyone overcame it all
Participated in my MPI-CAC Board of Directors Retreat in Skokie, IL
That catches you up to this weekend, which is the Founder's Day Celebration of the Chicago Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. I've been more active than usual in the sorority this year so that adds to all my stuff.
In between, I'm working on grad school applications as I want to get off my duckus and get in school to help with my career transition. Will share more on that later.
Hugs to all and you'll see some fun photos soon!
so since the last blog, here's a rundown of what's been going on in Cherai's world:
I have been a participant in Holiday Showcase tradeshow (and met a new mentor that will hopefully get me moving in my career transition)
went on a one-day trip to Philadelphia with my client to look over the space for an upcoming show in March
met Bryan's family (wait, who is Bryan, you ask? He's my sweetheart of a boyfriend - more on him later) who liked me,
spent Christmas with my family (and brothers Brian & Jeff along with Aunt Lil met Bryan and everyone seemed to get along),
spent New Year's in church with Bryan, Eugene and Richard (who had not met Bryan but everyone seemed to like each other)
Had traditional New Year's Day dinner with Bryan's family (his sister Pam cooked - and it was delicious).
Went to Aruba on vacation with Bryan (we had a BALL). As soon as I figure out how to download the photos, you'll see them
Went to Seattle on business - it was a good show with some drama but everyone overcame it all
Participated in my MPI-CAC Board of Directors Retreat in Skokie, IL
That catches you up to this weekend, which is the Founder's Day Celebration of the Chicago Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. I've been more active than usual in the sorority this year so that adds to all my stuff.
In between, I'm working on grad school applications as I want to get off my duckus and get in school to help with my career transition. Will share more on that later.
Hugs to all and you'll see some fun photos soon!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Please accept my apologies for not being more current on the blogsphere
Hola everyone.
My Dad has a blog and when I read his blog or my brother/sister-in-law's blog, it reminds me that I've not blogged in a while. Then I think well, it's for me so I'll blog when I feel like it. Then I think... no, the blog is not really for me as much as it is for people who care about me and use the blog to know what I'm up to when they think enough of me to check it out so....I need to get on the stick and let folks know what's going on! Of course, it's always great to hear what's going on with you, as well.
It's been a busy social time. After returning from Miami on December 2nd, it was get to work mode as I had some client appointments last week, some new leads to follow-up on AND a tradeshow to get ready for this week. Then, it's all the Christmas social events of the season and well, it's just hard to keep up! I do have a new housekeeper -for which I am so grateful b/c now I can at least have a clean house and invite folks over without having to feel embarrassed by how messy it is. That's a beautiful thing.
So I am actually done with my major Christmas shopping, I'm soo happy about that. Ah, the joys of internet shopping - combined with a little indoor shopping and it's a wrap! Actually, Steinmart had a 14 hour sale and that was all she wrote. I spent THREE HOURS in Steinmart - two hours were finding a cute outfit for the Delta Christmas Party on Saturday night. I'm looking forward to it. I'm taking my beau Bryan so now he gets to meet all the sorors. That should be interesting. We were then invited to a Trinity friend's house party just now so then we'll head down South to hang out there for a while, as well. I'm looking forward to this weekend - it should be fun. And it will offset all the busy busy busy work activities of the week. PHEW - I'm exhausted and it's just Wednesday.
So, that's it for now. Will write more later on......
My Dad has a blog and when I read his blog or my brother/sister-in-law's blog, it reminds me that I've not blogged in a while. Then I think well, it's for me so I'll blog when I feel like it. Then I think... no, the blog is not really for me as much as it is for people who care about me and use the blog to know what I'm up to when they think enough of me to check it out so....I need to get on the stick and let folks know what's going on! Of course, it's always great to hear what's going on with you, as well.
It's been a busy social time. After returning from Miami on December 2nd, it was get to work mode as I had some client appointments last week, some new leads to follow-up on AND a tradeshow to get ready for this week. Then, it's all the Christmas social events of the season and well, it's just hard to keep up! I do have a new housekeeper -for which I am so grateful b/c now I can at least have a clean house and invite folks over without having to feel embarrassed by how messy it is. That's a beautiful thing.
So I am actually done with my major Christmas shopping, I'm soo happy about that. Ah, the joys of internet shopping - combined with a little indoor shopping and it's a wrap! Actually, Steinmart had a 14 hour sale and that was all she wrote. I spent THREE HOURS in Steinmart - two hours were finding a cute outfit for the Delta Christmas Party on Saturday night. I'm looking forward to it. I'm taking my beau Bryan so now he gets to meet all the sorors. That should be interesting. We were then invited to a Trinity friend's house party just now so then we'll head down South to hang out there for a while, as well. I'm looking forward to this weekend - it should be fun. And it will offset all the busy busy busy work activities of the week. PHEW - I'm exhausted and it's just Wednesday.
So, that's it for now. Will write more later on......
Friday, November 30, 2007
Random Musings on a Friday Night....
Howdy.
I am sitting in my hotel room in Miami, Florida. Was supposed to get with some friends tonight but those plans fell through so I went to a reception that some friends were having and then came up to the room to take care of some business before tomorrow's trade show. I'll be going back down to the hospitality suite at 10:30 pm to support my friends from Alabama who are hosting the suite and then I'll head to bed. Tomorrow will be an early morning.
I am attending the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners Fall Conference being held in Miami, Florida. It's been seven years since I've been a registered attendee at NCBMP! My reason for not attending in the past is that my company did not support my membership and it was too expensive for me to pay to attend on my own. After coming back and remembering all of the great relationships and mentors that I've met along the way in this organizations (and some of my best friends in the industry are from this organization), I've come to realize that I need to support the organization and pay for my own membership if the company that I work for will not. You can't forget where you've come from and I grew up professionally and personally in this organization. No more excuses. I'll just make one of the conferences a working vacation if the company won't support it and go network and do business with my friends.
So, what else is going on? Had fun at Thanksgiving. My friend Bryan (well, we have not really put "labels" on our......relationship but.....we're dating) came up the Friday night after Thanksgiving and met the folks. He was a really good sport and helped with the Annual Christmas Trees preparation! We all (Mom, Dad, Bryan and me) had a great time and I think the folks liked him. Dad actually mentioned meeting him in his blog so that's a good sign, I suppose.
OH yes, Daddy has a blog now. And he's doing pretty good in updating it. I'll ask him if I can share his blog address so those of you who check out my blog and know my Dad can keep up with him, as well.
Work is ok. One of the sessions I sat in today talked about knowing if you want to be in the game. You have to decide if you want to be in the game or not and commit to your decision as ppl will notice if you have checked out. I noticed that I had checked out for a bit from my job but this conference has helped me put some priorities back in line and check back into the job and into life. Hmmm, I just realized that I can go work out right now since I have a couple of hours of free time as I've not worked out in a couple of days and have been eating a bit more than usual. I've made some pretty decent food choices while I've been here - however, a bit more working out will certainly not hurt in preparation for the Christmas parties, etc.
more to come.....
I am sitting in my hotel room in Miami, Florida. Was supposed to get with some friends tonight but those plans fell through so I went to a reception that some friends were having and then came up to the room to take care of some business before tomorrow's trade show. I'll be going back down to the hospitality suite at 10:30 pm to support my friends from Alabama who are hosting the suite and then I'll head to bed. Tomorrow will be an early morning.
I am attending the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners Fall Conference being held in Miami, Florida. It's been seven years since I've been a registered attendee at NCBMP! My reason for not attending in the past is that my company did not support my membership and it was too expensive for me to pay to attend on my own. After coming back and remembering all of the great relationships and mentors that I've met along the way in this organizations (and some of my best friends in the industry are from this organization), I've come to realize that I need to support the organization and pay for my own membership if the company that I work for will not. You can't forget where you've come from and I grew up professionally and personally in this organization. No more excuses. I'll just make one of the conferences a working vacation if the company won't support it and go network and do business with my friends.
So, what else is going on? Had fun at Thanksgiving. My friend Bryan (well, we have not really put "labels" on our......relationship but.....we're dating) came up the Friday night after Thanksgiving and met the folks. He was a really good sport and helped with the Annual Christmas Trees preparation! We all (Mom, Dad, Bryan and me) had a great time and I think the folks liked him. Dad actually mentioned meeting him in his blog so that's a good sign, I suppose.
OH yes, Daddy has a blog now. And he's doing pretty good in updating it. I'll ask him if I can share his blog address so those of you who check out my blog and know my Dad can keep up with him, as well.
Work is ok. One of the sessions I sat in today talked about knowing if you want to be in the game. You have to decide if you want to be in the game or not and commit to your decision as ppl will notice if you have checked out. I noticed that I had checked out for a bit from my job but this conference has helped me put some priorities back in line and check back into the job and into life. Hmmm, I just realized that I can go work out right now since I have a couple of hours of free time as I've not worked out in a couple of days and have been eating a bit more than usual. I've made some pretty decent food choices while I've been here - however, a bit more working out will certainly not hurt in preparation for the Christmas parties, etc.
more to come.....
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello everyone. It's quiet in the house with my parents asleep (it's way past their bedtime) and I'm just chilling in the family room before turning in myself. My mom and I are going to go shopping tomorrow and then put up the Christmas trees (yes, that is plural for two trees - my mom is a Christmas freak so...we have the decorator tree in the living room and the family tree in the family room).
My Dad started a blog today. Won't that be interesting? I have not been as current with my blog as I would like to but....there's always tomorrow, right? Since the busy part of the work season has finally subsided (thank goodness), we'll just get caught up in everything else that I have going on.
The home refinance is complete - YEA!!!! The beautiful part is that I don't have to pay a mortgage again until Jan 2008 so extra money to pay down some credit card debt. I don't have a lot in the first place (PRAISE GOD); however, it's always a good thing to pay down what I do have.
My friend Bryan is coming to visit me and meet the folks tomorrow. Should be interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing him. I am in serious like with this guy....not sure if that's a good or bad thing but...I'm just rolling with the punches and just enjoying the experience - come what may.
Work....is work. Our company is an interesting company. Some of the decisions that are made really don't make sense and they (management) get upset when you question the decisions. I just want to understand the logic to get on board but......it's a trip - in any event. Never a dull moment. I did put setting a date for my GMAT and filling out the grad school applications on my task list so now it's looking at me every day that I don't do it. I'm looking forward to that new challenge.
OK - gotta pay some bills and start getting some Christmas gifts so.....hugs to all. Have a wonderful holiday season!
My Dad started a blog today. Won't that be interesting? I have not been as current with my blog as I would like to but....there's always tomorrow, right? Since the busy part of the work season has finally subsided (thank goodness), we'll just get caught up in everything else that I have going on.
The home refinance is complete - YEA!!!! The beautiful part is that I don't have to pay a mortgage again until Jan 2008 so extra money to pay down some credit card debt. I don't have a lot in the first place (PRAISE GOD); however, it's always a good thing to pay down what I do have.
My friend Bryan is coming to visit me and meet the folks tomorrow. Should be interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing him. I am in serious like with this guy....not sure if that's a good or bad thing but...I'm just rolling with the punches and just enjoying the experience - come what may.
Work....is work. Our company is an interesting company. Some of the decisions that are made really don't make sense and they (management) get upset when you question the decisions. I just want to understand the logic to get on board but......it's a trip - in any event. Never a dull moment. I did put setting a date for my GMAT and filling out the grad school applications on my task list so now it's looking at me every day that I don't do it. I'm looking forward to that new challenge.
OK - gotta pay some bills and start getting some Christmas gifts so.....hugs to all. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Is honesty always the best policy?
Time is just flying this year. I cannot believe that it's already that time to start planning for Christmas and get that last bit of dieting in before the feasts of Fall begin.
It's been a crazy fall thus far. After I got from Puerto Rico (which while beautiful, was a bit of a stressful trip), I had about 4 days and then I headed to Washington DC to do another client program. That program went very well - thank goodness - and the clients were happy with us. Love it when you've got good stuff going on.
Had a small recent set back with a client who felt I was "too direct" - what does that mean, anyway? But, I volunteered for the good of the company to back away from the account and the client. It's a shame that the client could nto come to me but I guess that would have been "too direct" for her to do that. I've always believed that communication can work through almost any problem. It's a shame that other people cannot find a way to communicate clearly, honestly and effectively to resolve conflict instead of going behind people's backs and acting ugly toward others.
It's kinda interesting - a recent conversation with a friend that we discussed how she finds it creepy to find out that people are talking "about" her instead of "to" her. I told her to get over it b/c people will ALWAYS talk about you and in fact, the bigger a role you take (in anything), the more fodder is provided for people to talk about. I move and conduct myself with honesty, integrity and compassion in all things and accept responsibility for my actions. Frankly, I feel blessed that I have the ability to talk with anyone about anything (some call it a gift and some call it a curse) and to be able to discuss (and hopefully resolve) conflicts in a calm and clear manner.
When I make a mistake, I am the first to take ownership and clean up whatever was messed up. It's amazing to me that I run into so many more people who cannot handle that. Why is that? Ego? Fear? Denial? What is that about?
I was feeling anger towards the client and towards the fellow Projection staff person who had a hand in this situation and who lied to me directly when I opened a conversation to see if there were any conflicts and/or issues that the client had with me that I was not aware of and then at the same time was arranging a meeting between the client and MY BOSS. Praise God that my boss has supported me throughout this trying time as it has weighed heavily on me. It's tough to not know what you've done wrong (in someone's eyes) but for them to cut off communication and/or act in an untoward and ugly manner to you. But, I'll have to just move on. Thank God my other clients seem to like and appreciate my work on their behalf.
OK - still owe you pics of the new home office. Someday soon..... Hugs,
It's been a crazy fall thus far. After I got from Puerto Rico (which while beautiful, was a bit of a stressful trip), I had about 4 days and then I headed to Washington DC to do another client program. That program went very well - thank goodness - and the clients were happy with us. Love it when you've got good stuff going on.
Had a small recent set back with a client who felt I was "too direct" - what does that mean, anyway? But, I volunteered for the good of the company to back away from the account and the client. It's a shame that the client could nto come to me but I guess that would have been "too direct" for her to do that. I've always believed that communication can work through almost any problem. It's a shame that other people cannot find a way to communicate clearly, honestly and effectively to resolve conflict instead of going behind people's backs and acting ugly toward others.
It's kinda interesting - a recent conversation with a friend that we discussed how she finds it creepy to find out that people are talking "about" her instead of "to" her. I told her to get over it b/c people will ALWAYS talk about you and in fact, the bigger a role you take (in anything), the more fodder is provided for people to talk about. I move and conduct myself with honesty, integrity and compassion in all things and accept responsibility for my actions. Frankly, I feel blessed that I have the ability to talk with anyone about anything (some call it a gift and some call it a curse) and to be able to discuss (and hopefully resolve) conflicts in a calm and clear manner.
When I make a mistake, I am the first to take ownership and clean up whatever was messed up. It's amazing to me that I run into so many more people who cannot handle that. Why is that? Ego? Fear? Denial? What is that about?
I was feeling anger towards the client and towards the fellow Projection staff person who had a hand in this situation and who lied to me directly when I opened a conversation to see if there were any conflicts and/or issues that the client had with me that I was not aware of and then at the same time was arranging a meeting between the client and MY BOSS. Praise God that my boss has supported me throughout this trying time as it has weighed heavily on me. It's tough to not know what you've done wrong (in someone's eyes) but for them to cut off communication and/or act in an untoward and ugly manner to you. But, I'll have to just move on. Thank God my other clients seem to like and appreciate my work on their behalf.
OK - still owe you pics of the new home office. Someday soon..... Hugs,
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